In plain English, what do the terms "start time", "morning time
period", "cool setpoint", "heat setpoint", "day time period", "evening
time period" and "night time period" mean?

(Gary) wrote in
om:

In plain English, what do the terms "start time", "morning time
period", "cool setpoint", "heat setpoint", "day time period", "evening
time period" and "night time period" mean?


It seems like fairly plain English to me.

The day is divided into four time periods, the names are arbitrary but
they indicate that the sequence is as you have listed (i.e. morning
precedes day which is followed by evening etc.) You get to choose the
start time of each period.

For each period you can set a temperature to be achieved by the
thermostat using the furnace, and another temperature to be achieved by
the thermostat using the AC. The two can't be the same, the first should
be different (lower) than the second or you've got a problem. Most
thermostats won't allow you to set the two the same.

Typically you will set a comfortable temperature for morning and evening,
while saving money during the day and night periods by setting the
heating setpoint low and/or the cooling setpoint high.

Chuckles,

(I tried to post a follow-up to your response on Google.com but I kept
getting "Internal Error" messages so I decided to contact you
directly).

I know what "morning", "day", "evening" and "night" mean.

But what is a "setpoint"? Is it the temperature at which the A/C (or
heater) is to TURN ON or is it the temperature the A/C (or heater) is
to MAINTAIN?


thanks,

Gary


Chuckles wrote in message ...
(Gary) wrote in
om:

In plain English, what do the terms "start time", "morning time
period", "cool setpoint", "heat setpoint", "day time period", "evening
time period" and "night time period" mean?


It seems like fairly plain English to me.

The day is divided into four time periods, the names are arbitrary but
they indicate that the sequence is as you have listed (i.e. morning
precedes day which is followed by evening etc.) You get to choose the
start time of each period.

For each period you can set a temperature to be achieved by the
thermostat using the furnace, and another temperature to be achieved by
the thermostat using the AC. The two can't be the same, the first should
be different (lower) than the second or you've got a problem. Most
thermostats won't allow you to set the two the same.

Typically you will set a comfortable temperature for morning and evening,
while saving money during the day and night periods by setting the
heating setpoint low and/or the cooling setpoint high.

Maintain.

There is a 1 or 2 degree dead zone, of course, and that may be settable
as well (it is settable in my Totaline thermostat). 1 degree dead zone
means that, for example, if your heat setpoint is 72, it will turn on at
71 and turn off at 72. So there is a 1 degree temperature swing. It can
never maintain the temeprature exactly or it would be turning on and off
every second.


(Gary) wrote in
om:

Chuckles,

(I tried to post a follow-up to your response on Google.com but I kept
getting "Internal Error" messages so I decided to contact you
directly).

I know what "morning", "day", "evening" and "night" mean.

But what is a "setpoint"? Is it the temperature at which the A/C (or
heater) is to TURN ON or is it the temperature the A/C (or heater) is
to MAINTAIN?

"Gary" wrote in message
om...

. . . what is a "setpoint"? Is it the temperature at which the A/C (or
heater) is to TURN ON or is it the temperature the A/C (or heater) is
to MAINTAIN?

In my thermostat, a set point is a temperature setting
the user loaded into the system (to turn on furnace when
temp. falls to say 66 deg., or to turn on AC when temp.
rises to say 75 deg.) as distinct from an actual
temperature, i.e. what the system says the ambient
temperature is right now. Mine makes no difference
between the TURN ON setpoint and the MAINTAIN
setpoint.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)
dphillipson[at]trytel.com